This invention relates to military vehicles, especially tanks. A primary aim of the invention is to increase armor protection for humans and stored ammunition within the vehicle, particularly against overhead threats such as helicopter fire, aircraft strafing attack, enemy mortar fire, or guided missile attack. U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,426 to Jackson and U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,596 to Allier et al describe overhead threats of special concern.
This invention arises particularly because of recent attempts by military designers to reduce tank weight and to lower the tank silhouette (target height). Such attempts involve removal of the usual armored turret from the vehicle, and mounting the main gun in an external exposed location atop a platform that rotates in the plane of the hull roof. The new "externally mounted gun" type tanks provide a significant weight saving and reduction in vehicle profile area (especially in the vertical direction).
The conventional turret heretofore employed usually includes a bustle at its rear end that overhangs the area of the hull in which ammunition is stored; some ammunition is also stored in the turret bustle. The recent action in removing the turret requires that all ammunition be stored in the hull; size of the storage area is increased. Since the bustle no longer overhangs the ammunition storage area there is lessened armor protection against explosion of ammunition due to enemy overhead attack.
The forward area of the conventional turret has an overhang portion that tends to partially protect the human driver and other humans in the hull area forward from the turret basket. Removal of the turret from the vehicle leaves the driver and other humans vulnerable to overhead enemy attack.
The present invention is concerned with so-called "externally mounted gun" tanks. A special aim is to increase the armor protection level for the crew and ammunition compartments in such tanks. The inventive concept provides overhead protection against so-called "top attack" munitions; an armor umbrella covers both the crew and ammunition compartments. In its simplest form the umbrella comprises horizontal armor plates affixed to the gun cradle walls about eighteen inches above the hull roof (or at any reasonable height that is required or attainable). The plates extend outwardly from the gun cradle walls to provide spaced armor protection for selected areas of the hull, especially the crew stations and ammunition magazine(s). An object of the invention is to provide overhead protection for an externally mounted gun tank at relatively low cost and added vehicle weight. Another object is to provide overhead protection without significantly increasing the vehicle profile area exposed to enemy ground observation and/or enemy ground fire; this is accomplished by disposing the armor plates horizontally so that only the edge areas of the plates are viewable by the enemy ground force.
In its more costly implementation the invention contemplates that some of the armor plates are foldable or swingable into upright attitudes when overhead protection is not necessary, i.e. when the enemy force is known to lack significant overhead threat capability. The foldable plates are designed so that when they assume upright attitudes they are spaced outwardly from the gun cradle walls to provide standoff protection against enemy ground fire that might pierce or deform the gun cradle walls sufficiently to make the gun inoperable.
Preferably the add-on armor plates of this invention are positioned so that the human driver and commander are protected without interferring with potential crew operation under hatch-open conditions, i.e. with the driver or commander having his head projecting upwardly through the respective hatch openings to view the terrain directly rather than through vision blocks (periscopes).
In an optimum configuration some of the armor plates are adjustable to emergency non-obstruct positions at least partially removed from the spaces above the hatch openings. This arrangement is particularly advantageous should it become necessary for the humans to very guickly exit from the vehicle through the hatch openings, i.e. when enemy fire has disabled the vehicle into a burning or potentially exploding condition.